MSc/PgDip Environmental Acoustics

Acousticians with engineering or mathematical skills are currently in short supply, and Salford MSc Environmental Acoustics graduates are in a very strong position in the jobs market. Salford University has over 25 years experience of placing graduates in key audio and acoustic industries carrying out consultancy, research, development and design.

Typically our graduates go into:

• Acoustics and audio engineering research
• Acoustics and noise consultancy 
• Noise control and product sound

Graduates from our courses are employed in major acoustic companies around the world. Find out more details about where our students go on to work. Many employers such as noise and acoustic consultancies come directly to Salford to recruit graduates from our courses.

Our reputation in acoustics means that our graduates have an excellent chance of quickly finding a job. Some of our courses e.g. BSc (Hons) Acoustics have a 100% employment record. Acoustic consultancy offers the opportunity to engage with a wide variety of projects and clients, and consultancy practices who recruit our graduates are spread widely throughout the UK, the EU, Australia and New Zealand.

Further study

Some of our students go on to study a PhD at our world-class Acoustics Research Centre.

Salford University has been carrying out acoustics research for over 30 years. Research is funded by research councils, government bodies, and industry. Our research has fed into products that companies make and sell Worldwide, as well as regulations and standards used in the UK, Europe and Beyond. We also carry out much public engagement - getting more people aware and interested in acoustic science and engineering. Key areas include building and architectural acoustics, environmental noise, sound-scapes, outdoor sound propagation, remote acoustic sensing of metrological conditions, human response to sound and vibration, audio signal processing and transducer design.

The Acoustics Research Centre's world leading research was recognised by the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008). The Centre was submitted to "Architecture and Built Environment", along with colleagues from other groups at Salford. The architecture and the built environment research was rated as the best in the country, with 90% of our research graded at international standard and 25% at world-leading standard. The University finished top in Research Fortnight's Research Power table for Architecture & the Built Environment. The Acoustics Research Centre was particularly pleased to double the number of staff submitted to RAE 2008 compared to RAE 2001.

Alumni Profile

Calum Sharp

Calum Sharp chose the MSc Environmental Acoustics degree after deciding he wanted a change from his undergraduate Chemical Engineering studies. “I learned a lot about science and engineering in my previous degree, but I really wanted to apply that to something I am really passionate about”, he said. “For me, the Environmental Acoustics degree was the perfect combination of my interest in science and my passion for audio.  

“I chose Salford because of its excellent reputation in the field of acoustics, and for the strong relationship that Salford has with other acoustic researchers and high profile Acoustic Consultancy companies” said Calum.  

He graduated from the MSc Environmental Acoustics in 2011 with a distinction and is now studying for a PhD at Salford looking at how people respond to vibration and noise from freight trains as part of an EU-funded project. In 2012 he will present the results of his MSc dissertation to an international acoustics conference in Nantes, France. Calum’s PhD is funded by a Graduate Teaching Assistantship, and so he is also doing some teaching on the MSc Acoustics courses and the IoA diploma.

Industry Links

Staff have strong links with industry either through collaborative R&D projects with industry through the Acoustics Research Centre and our commercial test laboratories. The course also has strong links to industry through the industrial placement year. These all help to keep the BEng Acoustics up to date with the current needs of industry and including the latest research findings.

Further Study

• Some of our students go on to further study on completion of their Master’s in our world-class Acoustics Research Centre.